Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Tuesday, Aug 05, 2025

US signals Biden will avoid shaking hands during Middle East trip

US signals Biden will avoid shaking hands during Middle East trip

Despite the new COVID prevention guidelines, the US president has shaken the hands of Netanyahu and Gantz early in his visit to Israel.

As Joe Biden starts his first visit to the Middle East as US president, the White House has signalled that he will avoid shaking hands with dignitaries and counterparts to decrease the risk of contracting COVID-19.

But the new guidelines, which come ahead of a highly anticipated meeting between Biden and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, were not rigorously enforced upon the US president’s arrival in Israel on Wednesday; he shook the hands of Israeli officials.

“We’re in a phase of the pandemic now where we are seeking to reduce contact and to increase masking … to minimise spread,” US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Air Force One.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre echoed his comments. “We’re trying to minimise contact as much as possible,” she said.

The precautions, however, appear to have been short-lived in Israel. Biden fist-bumped Israel’s interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid and President Isaac Herzog after landing in Tel Aviv. But later in the day, footage showed him shaking hands with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Benny Gantz.

He also shook hands with officials at Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial.

Later this week, Biden will fly to Saudi Arabia, where he is expected to meet regional leaders in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. The White House has confirmed that he will also meet with bin Salman, who the US intelligence community accuses of ordering the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

Riyadh insists that the killing of Khashoggi – who wrote for the Washington Post at the time of his death – was a rogue operation that took place without the approval or knowledge of top officials, including Prince bin Salman, who is known by his initials, MBS.

As a candidate, Biden called Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over the killing, and early in his administration, he avoided dealing with MBS – the de facto leader of the kingdom. Instead, the White House has said that the president would engage with his counterpart, King Salman, the crown prince’s father.

It’s not clear whether Biden will follow his aides’ handshaking guidelines at the expected photo opportunity with MBS.




“The White House is desperately trying to avoid the picture of Biden shaking hands with the crown prince… COVID is a simple excuse but it won’t change the fact of the meeting,” Bruce Riedel, a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution, told the Reuters news agency.

The Biden administration has said it will promote normalisation between Israel and Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, during the president’s visit to the Middle East.

“We’ll continue to advance Israel’s integration into the region … Greater peace, greater stability, greater connection … It’s critical, I might add, for all the people of the region,” Biden said after landing in Israel on Wednesday.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
×